A young girl who had to have her legs and her left arm amputed has been left "chuffed to bits" after being given a new bionic 'hero arm'.

When Rinae Hedgecock was five years old, she contracted a deadly strain of meningitis and lost both legs, her left arm below the elbow and the fingers and thumb on her right hand.

She made a remarkable recovery, despite doctors only giving her 24 hours to live at one point, but has previously struggled with the plastic prosthetic arm she had been given.

The little girl, who is now nine, dreamt of getting a 'hero arm', which would mean she would be able to grasp objects, dress herself and become more independent.

The bionic 'hero arms' are the first medically approved prosthetics of their kind in the UK and allow for precise and delicate movements that other prosthetic hands are unable to do. But the revolutionary technology is not currently available on the NHS.

The new bionic arm will help her grasp objects and dress herself (Image: Tristan Potter / SWNS)

Her father, John Hedgecock, 39, started a fund-raising campaign to pay for the £10,000 prosthetic and reached the target in just 24 hours.

Read More

Samantha Payne, co-founder of Open Bionics, said: "We're thrilled to see Rinae receive her hero arm.

"Rinae crowdfunded for the device and was fitted through private healthcare, and she is one of dozens of people with upper limb differences in the UK fundraising for a Hero Arm.

"We very much hope the NHS sees how helpful these devices are and will begin offering them to the people who need them. We've worked really hard to achieve a price point for the device that is acceptable for existing NHS budgets for prosthetic provision.

Rinae is loving her bionic arm (Image: Tristan Potter / SWNS)

"We are engaged in a world-first clinical trial with the NHS, and both clinicians and policymakers have been incredibly supportive of the Hero Arm.

"The device is currently provided by the French and Irish healthcare systems, but not yet here in the UK.

"Unfortunately, NHS policy change is not currently keeping pace with technological improvements.

"We have a wait-list of amputees who cannot afford private healthcare waiting for the device to be available via the NHS and we're excited to supply them with a Hero Arm in the future."